Technical.ly just hired an entrepreneur turned public media exec to lead our newsroom

Technical.ly is thrilled to welcome this week our new editorial director, Danya Henninger.

In the role, she oversees our multi-market newsroom, including everything we publish from the site, social, newsletters and anything in between. She has extensive journalism experience — though in the years I’ve known her, what’s always stood out to me is just about everything else she’s done.

“I myself am a technologist and entrepreneur,” Henninger has told me. I met her nearly a decade and a half ago, back when she was running a commercial photo-video digital imaging business she cofounded with her husband. Over years of coffees and drinks and collaborations, we’ve shared a love for using journalism to challenge and chronicle communities in change.

We bantered over social media and gossiped at events. New tools and big ideas were always part of the mix. Now she’s charged with sharpening the force and widening the reach of Technical.ly’s journalism.

“I’m excited about being able to explore the newest technology and track entrepreneurial business developments as part of my job,” she said. “Getting other people excited about these things — especially in the direction of solutions and usefulness, and with an overarching lens of increasing diversity, equity and belonging — will be very fulfilling.”

Henninger is based in Philadelphia, where Technical.ly was founded, but stories of economic change happen everywhere. We aim to tell them wherever we can do so deeply and thoughtfully.

Most recently she was director and editor at voice-rich local news source Billy Penn at WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR affiliate. There she led the growth of their newsletter to nearly 45,000 subscribers and developed a membership base of over 3,100 contributors.

Before that, she reported for a range of outlets, most prominently on food and culture. She was always interested in the business and economic incentives involved — but nothing drew her more than the people following their passions. I first collaborated with Henninger when she was editor of a local beer and spirits publication she helped expand to several US cities.

That multi-market experience fits here at Technical.ly, where Henninger will oversee our work highlighting what is working and what is not about invention and innovation in a local context across cities, sharing those lessons across geography. Her responsibilities include invigorating our daily newsletters, extending our reach, managing grant-funded journalism, and developing new partnerships with community and media organizations across the Technical.ly network.

“I’ve always looked up to Chris as a smart dude who actually walks the talk — he doesn’t just expound about innovation and entrepreneurship, he actually lives it,” Henninger said. “I’m proud of the opportunity to lead Technical.ly journalism to be the best it can be for a community of people who make the cities I love stronger and more vibrant.”